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Rambo (film)
Rambo (also known as' Rambo IV' and 'John Rambo') is a 2008 American action film directed by, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first Rambo film since the critical flop Rambo III (1988) where, Rambo returns; the film was released in theaters in 2008; starring Sylvester Stallone as Rambo and Julie Benz as Sarah Miller. The film was well-recieved as the perfect conclusion to the series, but could have a sequel in the works. Plot Burma is under the iron-fisted rule of Than Shwe and takes harsh stances against the nation's pro-democracy movement. The actual film begins with rebels being thrown into a land mine-infested marsh and forced to run across it before being gunned down by the Tatmadaw Army, while the sadistic Major Pa Tee Tint gazes grimly at the scene while casually smoking a cigarette. Former U.S. soldier John Rambo still lives in Thailand and now resides in a village near the Burmese border. He makes a living capturing snakes and selling them in a nearby village. He also transports roamers in his boat. A missionary, Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze), asks Rambo to take him and his associates up the Salween River into Burma on a humanitarian mission to give aid to Karen tribespeople. Rambo refuses but is convinced by Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) to take them. The boat is stopped by pirates who demand Sarah in exchange for passage, which Rambo knows will lead to her rape, torture and most likely death of all on the boat. After negotiations fail, Rambo kills them all. Although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs Michael. Upon arrival, Michael says that they will travel by road and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip and he intends to report Rambo for his hostile, albeit necessary, actions. The mission goes well until the Tatmadaw, led by Major Tint, attack. They kill most of the villagers and two missionaries and kidnap the rest, including Michael and Sarah. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor, Reverand Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard) comes to ask Rambo's help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen. After an intense boat ride where Lewis, one of the mercenaries, insults him repeatedly, Rambo attempts to accompany them on the rescue mission and grabs his compound bow, but Lewis rebuffs him. They head to the destroyed and abandoned village, where they meet Myint, a Karen rebel that helps guide them. But they are forced to hide from arriving Burmese soldiers gambling with the lives of local villagers by making them run across a land mine ridden rice paddy. They are worried about being discovered and forced to watch the atrocities the cruel soldiers are doing, but Rambo arrives and uses his bow to dispatch every single soldier and save the lives of the villagers. Worried about the soldiers coming after them because of their deaths, and angry at Rambo for disobeying his orders, Lewis shows little care for the lives of the imprisoned missionaries and orders the team to turn around, but changes his mind when Rambo holds an arrow to his eye. With the help of the Karen, they reach the P.O.W. camp where the missionaries are being held. Schoolboy, a mercenary, shoots all the guards with his rifle and the mercenaries rescue the other missionaries, but Sarah has been captured by a drunk soldier that intends to rape her. However, Rambo arrives just in time and rips out the man's throat with his bare hands, killing him. Rambo helps Sarah escape and finds that the other mercenaries have deserted them for fear of their own lives. Two Tatmadaw soldiers find them and attempt to kill Sarah, but Rambo jumps on her as a human shield, but Schoolboy, the only mercenary that wanted to risk his life by waiting for Rambo and Sarah, kills them and they are able to escape. The next morning, the Tatmadaw unit finds the hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Rambo distracts the soldiers by ripping off a piece of Sarah's blouse and attaching it to a claymore mine, which he places underneath an unexploded "Grand Slam" bomb from World War II. The dogs sniff out the shirt right as the mine detonates and causes the bomb to explode, causing a gigantic explosion that kills many of the soldiers. Rambo leaves to distract more soldiers while Schoolboy takes care of Sarah. Schoolboy discovers that Tint's men have captured the missionaries and mercenaries and are now beating them severely. But just as the group is to be executed, Rambo hijacks a jeep-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and engages the Burmese army in a massive gunfight. The resulting chaos provides the mercenaries with weapons and the missionaries with an opportunity to hide. Rambo kills almost every Tatmadaw soldier with the machine gun and Karen rebels later join the fight to help Rambo and the mercenaries win. This succeeds and the cowardly Major Tint attempts to get away, but Rambo shoves his machete into his gut, slices his stomach open and kicks him down a hill, disemboweling him. Rambo returns to the United States because after he was asked if he had any living family by Sarah, Rambo said that his father might still be alive. A silent last scene shows him walking along a rural highway, past a horse farm and a rusted mailbox bearing the name "R. Rambo" as he makes his way down the gravel driveway and the credits roll. Cast and characters *Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo *Julie Benz as Sarah Miller *Paul Schulze as Michael Burnett *Matthew Marsden as Schoolboy *Graham McTavish as Lewis *Rey Gallegos as Diaz *Tim Kang as En-Joo *Jake La Botz as Reese *Maung Maung Khin as Major Pa Tee Tint *Ken Howard as Rev. Arthur Marsh Reception The director of First Blood, Ted Kotcheff, was a technical consultant for Rambo IV. This is the first Rambo film where John Rambo uses a pistol. Also the first Rambo film without a helicopter. Most notably, it is also the first Rambo film completely without a scene in which John Rambo is without a shirt, showing his muscles. This is due to Stallone's, extensive tattoo work on both shoulders. Like its predecessor, Rambo ''recieved mostly negative to mixed reviews from critics, who mainly criticized the film's excessive, albeit realistic war violence. Another high point of criticism from fans was the heavy use of CGI blood, rather than practical special effects. Despite the massively negative reviews, the film was said to be an improvement over its predecessor. ''Rambo ''is considered by some fans to be the best sequel because it delved further into the character of John Rambo, and was the first film to do so since First Blood. The film is now thought of by many as the perfect conclusion to the series. David Morrell, author of the original First Blood, gave the film a positive review, and stated that Sylvester Stallone understands who the character of John Rambo is supposed to be. Sylvester Stallone stated that he wanted to do something important with the possibly last film in the Rambo series, and not just make another action film. This is why the film is set amongst the events of the Burmese genocide and why there is more drama to the characters. Reaction from Burma At the time of it's release, the movie was banned by the Burmese government. The military ruling party ordered DVD vendors in Burma not to distribute the film due to the movie's content. Despite having never been released there theatrically or on DVD, ''Rambo is, however, available there in bootleg (illegal) versions. Despite the film being unpopular among some of the population due to the negative portrayal of the Myanmar armed forces, the opposition youth group 'Generation Wave' copied and distributed the film as anti-government propaganda. According to Karen Freedom Fighters, the movie gave them a great boost of morale. Burmese freedom fighters have even adopted dialogue from the movie (most notably "Live for nothing, or die for something") as rallying points and battle cries. "That, to me," said Sylvester Stallone, "is one of the proudest moments I've ever had in film. Also, overseas Burmese have praised the movie for its vivid portrayal of the military's oppression of the Karen people Possible Sequel Sylvester Stallone has expressed interest in doing another film, Rambo V, but has stated that it will not be a war movie like the others because he would like to take the series in a different direction. The film is currently in "development hell" and it does not look like it will be made anytime soon. Video Rambo 4 (Trailer 2008)|The first trailer of the movie. The new Rambo Trailer|The second trailer of the movie External Links Official website Category:Films Category:Sequel Category:Rambo(2008)Weapons Category:Sylvester Stallone Category:Gil Hibben